MARKED FABERGÉ WITH IMPERIAL WARRANT AND WITH THE UNRECORDED WORKMASTER'S MARK L.O., MOSCOW 1895

Details

A SILVER PRESENTATION TRAY
marked Fabergé with Imperial warrant and with the unrecorded workmaster's mark L.O., Moscow 1895
Of shaped oval outline, the openwork border cast and chased with vigorous rocaille scrolls and flowers, the upper section applied with the dates: '1890' and '1895' centering an enamelled photographic portrait of Mr. Henry Allan Talbot Bowe, the Roman numeral: 'V' applied below, the cavetto with the presentation inscription, 'To much respected Allan Andreevich from sincerely grateful employees', the reverse of the tray engraved with names of Henry Bowe's colleagues, 'Prudnikov, Gibson, Ivanov, Balachev, Klodt K., Klodt E., Chepurnov, Okerman, Sokolov', marked on reverse
26in. (66cm.) wide
172.595 oz.(5368.3 gr.)

Provenance

Henry Allan Talbot Bowe
Phillips Geneva, 10 May 1988, lot 27, bought by Wartski as agent

Literature

Forbes, C. & Tromeur-Brenner, R. Fabergé, The Forbes Collection, New York, 1999, p. 224, ill. p. 225

Exhibited

St. Louis, The St. Louis Antiques Show, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1989, no cat. Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Arts Center, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1989/90, no cat. Tulsa, The Philbrook Museum of Art, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1990, no cat. Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1990, no cat. Memphis, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine collection, 1990, no cat. London, Sotheby's, Fabergé Silver from the Forbes Magazine Collection, 1991, no. 40, p. 43, ill. Knoxville, The Dogwood Arts Festival, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1991, no cat. Rochester, The Rochester Museum & Science Center, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1991, no cat. Gadsden, The Gadsden Center for Cultural Arts, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1992, no cat. Witchita, The Witchita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1992, no cat. St. Petersburg/Paris/London, State Hermitage Museum, Museé des Arts Décoratifs, Victoria and Albert Museum, Fabergé: Imperial Jeweller, 1993/94, no. 231, pp. 105, 346, ill. p. 346
New York, Nassau County Museum of Art, La Belle Époque, 1995, no cat.
Albuquerque, The Museum of Natural History and Science, Fabergé Silver from The Forbes Magazine Collection, 1996, no cat.

Special notice

On rare occasions, Zachys and Christie's guarantee a minimum price to the consignor of property. This is such a lot. Guaranteed lots are also subject to a reserve, unless otherwise stated.

Lot Essay

Henry Allan Talbot Bowe was born in South Africa in 1857. Upon the death of his parents he lived with relatives in England and later, in Switzerland. He was subsequently sent to live with an Uncle in Russia, who owned a large store in Moscow and started to work in the jewellry department where he rapidly acquired a comprehensive knowledge of precious stones and objets d'Art.
In 1886, on a journey from Russia to Paris, Allan Bowe met Carl Fabergé Attracted by Bowe's knowledge and obvious business acumen, Fabergé asked him to become a business partner. In 1887 they founded the Moscow branch on the Kuznetsky Most and later Bowe was instrumental in the establishment of further branches in England, Kiev and Odessa. In all, their partnership lasted almost 20 years, until it was dissolved in 1906 when Allan Bowe returned to England. The Moscow workshop concentrated on producing silver items under the workshop manager Mikhail Tchepurnov, cloisonné enamel, and to a lesser extent jewelled objects under the supervision of Knut Oskar Pihl. Catering for a rather different clientèle to that of the more cosmopolitan St. Petersburg, there was an emphasis on traditional design endorsed by the Pan-Slavic revival of the period.
For information on Henry Bowe's colleagues in Moscow see: T. Fabergé, A. Gorinia and V. Skurlov, Fabergé and St. Petersburg jewellers, (St. Petersburg, 1997).

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